OBS RECAPS & REVIEWS: MERLIN SEASON 1 RECAP – OVERVIEW

Hey Aussie’s, check this out we have a new staff member and guess what…she’s Australian. She has put together an awesome season 1 recap of the BBC show “Merlin” just for you. So check it out and read more on our forum. We will also be doing an episode by episode breakdown daily.

Brought to you by OBS staff member Karolina

Imagine this: A young man, trekking down a dirt road, back pack slung over his shoulder, a youthful, excited bounce in his step. He walks through a forest, and a man passes him on horse back. As he comes over a hill, he sees a beautiful white castle in the distance. He reaches the gates of the castle, and walks into the inner village, wonder shines in his eyes as he slowly spins to take in all the sights and sounds. The young man makes his way to the courtyard; he joins a group of people who have gathered there. A king stands on a balcony, and loudly decrees that since Magic is banned in Camelot, and had been for the last 20 years, a man who had used magic was to be beheaded for treason to begin the festivities of a magic-free kingdom. The supposed sorcerer is brought out, and beheaded in front of a sombre crowd as the young man watches with wide eyes, and another young woman watches from a high window. As the king proclaims the beginning of the festivities, a scream breaks free from the crowd, and a hag emerges. She condemns the king for his callous treatment of supposed sorcerers (and reveals that the man who was just killed was her son) and curses him by saying “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth – a son for a son.” As the guards move to arrest her, she disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving the king, the subjects of Camelot, and the idealistic young man who just entered Camelot’s gates, dumbfounded.

This is what happens in the first five minutes of BBC’S 2008 TV show “Merlin”. This Merlin, played by Colin Morgan (Dr Who, the Catherine Tate Show) is a far cry away from the eccentric old man with a white beard, pointy hat, fearsome sorcery and wise words that exists in most Arthurian Legends. Merlin here is a young man, born with the instinctive ability to use magic, and is sent by his mother to Camelot- where the use of magic is forbidden and punishable by death. With the guidance of his mother’s friend Gaius, played by Richard Wilson (One foot in the Grave. Demons, Dr Who), Merlin needs to learn to hone his magic, all the while keeping it a secret from the headstrong King Uther (played by Anthony Head of Buffy; the Vampire Slayer fame) and using it to keep the headstrong Prince Arthur (played by Bradley James from Dis/Connected) alive and able to fulfil his destiny.